4 Amazing JRPG Video Games Released In 2017

This has been one glorious year for the JRPG community, with many games ripe for the picking if you’re a fan of the genre. With innovation and creativity brimming from the video game world, it is easy enough to explain why these games deserve the attention of the community. Countless hours can be dropped into any one of these titles without even noticing a minute has gone by due to the clever writing and well-designed characters. Here is today’s list, in which we will highlight a few of the games most worthy of your attention in the JRPG genre’s newer releases.

Nier Automata

NieR: Automata mixes many genres while it tells a mature, complex story, and it does it all in an impeccable way. It has some minor flaws (secondary missions, average graphics), but it is overall a game you should not miss. –Vandal

Thanks to Platinum Games’ knack for riveting and gratifying combat, Automata is Yoko Taro’s most exciting game to date. The combat mechanics click after hurdling a low learning curve, and the end result is a skillful dance where balletic dodges complement wushu-inspired aggression. Moreover, this multi-ending trip is generously peppered with surprises and revelations, as well as easter eggs that call back to the first game and the Drakengard series from which Nier spun off. It’s a meaty, often exhilarating trek that showcases Platinum Games’ and Yoko Taro’s unique blend of genius. –GameSpot

NieR: Automata is everything I could have wanted from a sequel to NieR, to the point that I almost feel spoiled here. It keeps the same off-the-wall plot and well-written characters from the original while discarding the clunky combat and movement for a system that has the sheen of any one of Platinum’s greatest titles. It really is the best of both worlds. If you’ve been a fan of NieR since day one, but have been burnt by its clumsiness before, you’re in for a fantastic treat. And if you’re new to the craziness that is a Yoko Taro game, know that this is the absolute best time to jump in. –RPG Fan

Gravity Rush 2

The first great game of 2017. It takes what made the original a cult classic and builds upon that foundation in meaningful ways across all areas of the experience. Few games will make your heart race and palms sweat with excitement from moment-to-moment like Kat’s physics-defying journey through the skies. –GameCrate

Gravity Rush 2 takes the strange, quirky style and gameplay of the original and lets it loose on a larger canvas, dishing up its gravity-twisting action with real imagination and verve. It has the original’s charm and personality but more ambition, with a bigger setting, bigger set-pieces and a storyline to match. If Gravity Rush gave us a great heroine, some interesting mechanics and a different take on the action adventure, the sequel puts then centre-stage in a tale that does them justice. –Trusted Reviews

Really, that’s the overarching theme of Gravity Rush 2: it takes what made the first game intriguing, it builds on the proof of concept that was Gravity Rush Remastered, and it shows what Kat and co. are really capable of doing. It may start out a little slowly, but once it hits its stride, it quickly becomes apparent that the sky’s both the literal and figurative limit as to what this game can accomplish. –Gaming Age

Persona 5

If the opening hours of Persona 5 are like starting a massive novel, then the closing hours are like finishing one, complete with the bittersweet finality of turning the last page. But it also carries an immense sense of satisfaction. After 100 hours of playing, all of my big questions were answered. I understood the characters, I knew my way around the world, and I had fun almost every step of the journey. You become a resident of Persona 5 the more you play it, and it has the rare ability to transport in a way few games can.

The brilliant Japanese RPG, which nails you to your chair for a hundred hours, and you still feel it’s not enough. Finally, the whole world will learn about the exceptionality of this series. -LEVEL

The Phantom Thieves did not just steal the hearts of their targets: also our hearts are stolen. The new cast, carefully designed dungeons and tweaks on the existing mechanics make Persona 5 the best game in the franchise. –Gamer.nl

The Legend of Zelda: BOTW

This isn’t your typical boiler plate open world cash grab, rife with to-do lists and busywork. Zelda: Breath of the Wild is an evolution of the formula for both eastern and western philosophies alike, and a new blueprint. –Destructoid

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild is not just the best game in the franchise, it’s also manages to reinvent the open world genre. This will be remembered as a masterpiece for years to come. –M3

The new Zelda game is so big and so full of everything that it’s impossible to write about all of that in a traditional review. Breath of the Wild is a true system seller, probably the best starting game in the history of gaming. Nintendo is back and if only this quality of game design is maintained, Switch will become THE console. No question. –GRYOnline.pl

So there we have it! Are there any games you think we missed? Tell us below!